Electrical device



June 6 1939- J. M. CUNNINGHAM 2,161,614

ELECTRICAL DEVICE Filed April 7, 1937 HHIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII lllllllllllllllllll IIIHIII" Patented June 6, 1939 ELECTRICAL nevica James M. Cunningham, Endicott, N. Y., assignor to International Business Machines Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 7, 1937, Serial No. 135,503

1 Claim.

This invention relates to electric contact devices and more particularly to automatically operated electric contact devices.

One object of the present invention is to provide a' contact which is biased towards an opened position but is held normally latched in a closed position and in which the latch mechanism is magnetically operated to cause the contacts to open and in which a cyclically operated restoring mechanism closes said contacts and causes them to be restored to their latched position.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the specification and the accompanying drawing which show one embodiment of this invention and wherein similar reference numerals indicate similar parts and wherein in the drawing:

Fig. 1 shows a section taken on lines I-I of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 shows a plan view with portions of the structure removed to better show the construction.

The preferred embodiment to be described in the specication hereinafter is adapted for use in the control circuit of electric tabulating machines of the type controlled by perforated cards. Such a machine is shown in U. S. Patent No. 2,045,437 to G. F. Daly, dated June 23, 1936. A box-like support for the electrical devices is pro- 30 vided having a base 3 with low sides 4 running the long dimension of the support and higher sides 5 at each end. Brackets 6 are provided integral with said base for mounting the supporting structure to a suitable member of the electric accounting machine for which it may be intended.

Supporting plates 1 and 8 rest in notches cut in the ends 5 to the same depth as the plates 1 and 8 and are held by screws 9. The supporting plate 1 is a comb-like structure having projections IU and alternate cut-away portions II (Fig. 2) and a turned down portion i2 running substantially the length of the plate between the ends 5, (Fig. 1). The plate is provided with a series of elongated holes I3 through which screws I4 are adapted to pass to engage a threaded hole in a yoke I5. A magnet i6 is fixed to a turned down portion of the yoke I5 by a screw I1 which engages a threaded hole in an iron core oi the magnet I6. The opposite end of the yoke pivotally supports in a suitable manner at 28 an armature I8 which is attracted by the pole face I9 of the magnet, whenever the magnet is energized, rocking the armature I8 in a clockwise direction.

The supporting plate 8 is mounted parallel to and in the same plane as plate 1 and is likewise comb-like in structure, having cut-out portions 2| and projections 22 with a turned down portion I2a. These two plates 1 and 8 are so located relative to each other that their projections I0 and 22, respectively, extend toward each other with the projections III of plate 1 diametrically opposite the cut-out portions 2| of plate 8 and the projections 22 of plate 8 opposite the cut-out portions Il of plate 1. The plate 8 has mounted thereon in the same manner as described relative to plate 1, a magnet 23 and an armature 24 associated therewith. This magnet is mounted in a reverse position to the magnet I6 so that its pole face faces the magnet I6 and its armature 24 rotates in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1 when the magnet 23 is energized. The armature 24 is pivoted at 25 in a similar manner to the armature I8, and the magnet 23 is supported by a yoke 26 which is mounted by a screw and slot connection as previously described to the plate 8. S-shaped brackets 21 and 28 are mounted on the yokes I5 and 26, respectively, and extend upwardly through cut-away portions II and 2i to support a group of electrical connector members generally shown at 29 and 30. 'I'he connectors 29a, b, c, and d, are insulated from each other by insulating strips 29e and similarly the connectors composing the group indicated at 30 are insulated from each other. The connectors 29a and b are connected with leads 3l running to the magnet I6 and the corresponding connectors 30a and 30h are connected to leads (not shown) running to the magnet 23. A plurality of these magnets and contact groups are mounted adjacent to each other on each of the plates 1 and 8 as shown in Fig. 2.

The connectors 29o and 29d are connected to contact blades 32c and 32d, respectively, and said blades carry the contacts 32. The contact blade 32e is biased downwardly as viewed in Fig. 1 by .a spring blade 33. The contact blade 32e has riveted to it a strip 34 of suitable insulating material. Fixed to the strip is a step 35 and a limit stop 36 against which the upper end of the armature I8 is biased by a spring 31. The step 36 rests on top of the end of the armature i8 biased by the blade spring 33, so that in this position, as shown in Fig. 1, the contacts 32 are closed.

In a similar manner connectors 30e and d are connected to contact blades 38C and d, respectively, and the lower blade is biased downwardly by the spring blade 39 and said blade has a strip of insulating material 40 tlxed to it and extending outwardly and in the same plane as the insulated strip 34. The ends of the strips 34 and 40 extend past each other and adjacent each other in alternate positions as shown clearly in Fig. 2. The insulatingstrip 40 likewise has a step 4I and limit stop 42 cooperating with the upper end of armature 24 to hold the contacts 38 normally closed. The armature 24 is biased in a clockwise direction by a spring 44.

-A` square shaft 45 is located below the ends of the insulated strips 34 and 40 and is provided with cylindrical bearing ends 46 which are journaled ina bearing block 4'I mounted on the ends 5 of the supporting structures; the bearingl blocks being provided with oil wells 48. The square shaft 45 is thus located so that the ends of the strips 34 and 40 extend beyond its center axis. Onejof the cylindrical bearing ends 46 extend through and beyond the bearing block and has xed to it a` gear 58 which meshes with a pinion 5I fixed to a gear 52 and is connected to a gear 53 by an idler gear 54. The gear 53 may be fixed to a shaft of an accounting machine such as the reset shaft of the machine shown in Patent No. 2,045,437, previously referred to.

' The armatures I8. and 24 are provided with projections 55 and 56, respectively, which are adapted to be struck by the corners of the square shaft 45 when it is rotated and when any of the armatures I8 or 24 have been attracted against the pole faces of their respective magnets. 'I'he ends of the insulating strips 34 and 40 extend beyond the axis of rotation of the square shaft 45 and are spaced therefrom a distance permitting the corners of the square shaft to strike the under surface of the strips and lift them upwards together with the contacts 32 and 38, respectively, so that the steps 35 and 4| clear the ends of the armatures I8 and 24, respectively, but it does not lift them a sufficient dist/.ance for the limit stops 36 and 42 to clear the ends of the armatures.

The turned down portion I2. is provided with a series of adjusting screws 55 mounted in tapped holes in the turn down portions located opposite the turned down ends of the yokes I5 so that the ends of the screws abut the yokes. By loosening the screws I4 and screwing the screw 55 inwardly it is possible to move the entire magnet and contact as a unit toward the square shaft 45 to properly locate the assembly with respect to the square shaft so that the corner of the shaft 45 will just clear the projection 55 when the armature I8 is in its normal position as shown in Fig. 1. This is necessary as the movement of the armature I8 is very slight and upon being moved by energization of magnet I6 it is necessary to move the projection into the orbit of rotation of the corners of shaft 45 to effect a positive restoring operation of the armature I8 at the end of the cycle.

Adjusting screws 56 are provided in the turned down portion I2a for adjusting the magnet and contact assembly supported by the yoke 26 for the same purposes as set forth in connection with the contact and magnet assembly supported by the yoke I5.

In the operation of the device any one or a plurality of the magnets I6 or 23 are energized through control circuits connected to the magnets. tion one magnet I6 will be considered and it will be understood that all of the other magnet units will operate in like manner. When the magnet I6 is energized its armature I8 is attracted and rotates in a clockwise direction (Fig. 1) so that the upper end is moved to the right clear of the step 35, permitting the arm 34 to drop slightly which is suiiicient to open the contacts 32, thus opening the circuit connected to connectors 29o For the purpose of describing the opera-- and 28d. The square shaft 45 at this time is stationary in the position shown in Fig. 1. The opening of the various circuits according to the number of contacts 32 and 38 that may have been opened may set up certain controls in a tabulating machine, for example, which functions through a certain cycle. At the end of this cycle when the operationI has been completed it is desired to return all contacts to their initial position. The circuits to the magnets at this time will have been opened so that all of the magnets are deenergized. At this time the square shaft 45 is rotated 90 degrees in a counterclockwise direction, as, for example, by means of the reset shaft for resetting the multiplier accumulator in the previously mentioned patent to George F. Daly No. 2,045,437. The upper right hand corner of the shaft will lift the arms 34 and 4I sufciently so that the steps 35 and 4I will clear the upper ends of the armatures I8 and 24`respectively, and those armatures which have been displaced will be returned to their normal positions against the limit stops 36 and 42 by means of springs 31 and 44, respectively. To further assure this return to normal position positive knock-offs are provided in the extensions. 55 and 56 which would be struck by the upper left hand and lower right hand corners, respectively, of the square shaft 45. At the' end of this cycle all contacts 32 and 38 are again closed in their initial position.

It is understood that the square shaft 45 is common to all contact arms so that a single rotation of degrees of this bar will reset or close all contacts which may have been opened.

While the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a single modification has been shown, described and pointed out, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. I intend to be limited, therefore, only as indicated by the scope of the following claim.

What I claim is:

In combination, a pair of switches extending oppositely and in substantial alignment, each switch comprising a pair of contact blades provided with contact points, the free end of the corresponding blades of the two switches overlapping and extending past each other, a pair of latches one for each of the switches to engage the overlapping blade of the switch to maintain the contact points in one relative position, each latch being disposed at an angle to the engaged blade, a pair of magnets one for controlling each latch to release the engaged blade of one switch so as to change the relative position of the contact points of the switch, a shaft between the pair of latches and below the overlapping ends of those blades which are engaged by the latches, and a polygonal cam upon the shaft, one corner of which simultaneously engages the overlapping ends of the latter blades to actuate them and diagonally opposite corners of which simultaneously engage the latches to restore them into latching position while the latter contact blades are being actuated.

JAMES M. CUNNINGHAM. 

